Deferred income included an upfront payment, originally amounting to US$1 billion, in connection with the strategic pharmaceutical collaboration agreed between Bayer and Merck & Co., Inc., United States, in the field of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) modulation. This deferred income is being amortized over a period of 13.5 years as the obligations are satisfied. At the end of 2017, the remaining amount of deferred income was €601 million (2016: €660 million). In addition, a milestone achieved in 2017 in the course of the collaboration led to the recognition of €291 million in deferred income at year end.

Deferred income also included the proceeds from the sale of the Diabetes Care business at the beginning of 2016. As at December 31, 2016, the amount deferred was €469 million. The original proceeds of around €1 billion were accrued over a period of 24 months in line with the rendering of the services and were fully realized by the end of 2017.

The deferred income included €48 million (2016: €62 million) in grants and subsidies received from governments, of which €17 million (2016: €15 million) was reversed and recognized in profit or loss.

The miscellaneous liabilities included financing obligations of US$195 million (2016: US$255 million) for the joint venture Casebia Therapeutics LLP, United Kingdom, established in December 2015 with CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Switzerland, and a further financing commitment of US$70 million for the joint venture Cooksonia Opco LLC, United States, established in September 2017 with Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc., United States, which will operate in the area of the plant microbiome.

The miscellaneous liabilities included €321 million (2016: €271 million) from derivatives.